Soldering irons and solder

[DODGERN]

Having recently blown the dust off my antex 25w soldering iron to change 'that' cap and mains lead on my Fenman, I found it seemed slow to work on the larger joints. I guess it is more suited to PCB work with discrete and surface mount components.

I assume I shall need a larger iron to work on our old valve sets, what would be a suitable size?

I bought lead solder, I don't think anything else was available when I last soldered anything, are there any problems with lead free solder? Does it mix with the solder already in our old equipment?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Regards

Andrew

For general work a 25W soldering iron is fine Andrew. For PCB work I sometimes use a 15W iron.
The best types of iron are the temperature controlled ones. These irons maintain a constant temperature and do not cool down on a large solder area.
Keep to your lead based solder as the non-lead types have a much higher melting point. The solder does not flow as well and can lead to poor joints. It is a good idea to buy it now while it is still available. I would not even attempt to mix it with traditional solder.

Roger.